The Universe is Hostile to Computers

Tiny particles from distant galaxies have caused plane accidents, election interference and game glitches. This video is sponsored by Brilliant. The first 200 people to sign up via get 20% off a yearly subscription. This video was inspired by the RadioLab Podcast “Bit Flip“ -- they’re brilliant science storytellers. A Huge thanks to Dr Leif Scheick, Calla Cofield and the JPL Media Relations Team. Thanks to Col Chris Hadfield. Check out his book: ▀▀▀ References: J. F. Ziegler, “Terrestrial cosmic rays,“ in IBM Journal of Research and Development, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 19-39, Jan. 1996, doi: -- D. Binder, E. C. Smith and A. B. Holman, “Satellite Anomalies from Galactic Cosmic Rays,“ in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 2675-2680, Dec. 1975, doi: Ziegler, J. F., & Lanford, W. A. (1979). Effect of cosmic rays on computer memories. Science, 206(4420), 776-788 Drury, L. O. C. (2012). Origin of cosmic rays. Astroparticle Physics, 39, 52-60. Hess, V. (2018). On the observations of the penetrating radiation during seven balloon flights. arXiv preprint arXiv:. -- Carlson, P., & De Angelis, A. (2011). Nationalism and internationalism in science: the case of the discovery of cosmic rays. The European Physical Journal H, 35(4), 309-329. -- Höeffgen, S. K., Metzger, S., & Steffens, M. (2020). Investigating the effects of cosmic rays on space electronics. Frontiers in Physics, 8, 318. -- Edmonds, L. D., Barnes, C. E., & Scheick, L. Z. (2000). An introduction to space radiation effects on microelectronics. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. -- NASA Mars 2020 website covering the specifications of the Perseverance Rover Australian Government Australian Transport Safety Bureau report on QF72 -- Australian Government Australian Transport Safety Bureau summary on QF72 -- Great Blog post about QF72 -- Michael Barr’s report on the Toyota acceleration issue -- NASA’s Report on Toyota -- T. C. May and M. H. Woods, “A New Physical Mechanism for Soft Errors in Dynamic Memories,“ 16th International Reliability Physics Symposium, 1978, pp. 33-40, doi: -- P. M. O’Neill and G. D. Badhwar, “Single event upsets for Space Shuttle flights of new general purpose computer memory devices,“ in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 1755-1764, Oct. 1994, doi: -- Wikipedia about radiation hardening -- Toward Monitoring Fault-Tolerant Embedded Systems (Extended Abstract) -- Article about speed run -- Article about speed run -- Article about redundant systems in spaceflight -- Article about the PowerPC750 -- Fuglesang C, Narici L, Picozza P, Sannita WG. Phosphenes in low earth orbit: survey responses from 59 astronauts. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2006 Apr;77(4):449-52. PMID: 16676658. -- Good article about Cosmic Rays causing flashes -- Good article about radiation resistance -- Special thanks to Patreon supporters: Paul Peijzel, Juan Benet, Ruslan Khroma, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Sam Lutfi, MJP, Gnare, Nick DiCandilo, Dave Kircher, Edward Larsen, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Dumky, Mike Tung, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Ismail Öncü Usta, Paul Peijzel, Crated Comments, Anna, Mac Malkawi, Michael Schneider, Oleksii Leonov, Jim Osmun, Tyson McDowell, Ludovic Robillard, Jim buckmaster, fanime96, Juan Benet, Ruslan Khroma, Robert Blum, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Vincent, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Alfred Wallace, Arjun Chakroborty, Joar Wandborg, Clayton Greenwell, Pindex, Michael Krugman, Cy ’kkm’ K’Nelson, Sam Lutfi, Ron Neal Written by Derek Muller and Petr Lebedev Animation by Ivy Tello, Mike Radjabov, Fabio Albertelli, Jakub Misiek and Charlie Davies SFX by Shaun Clifford Filmed by Derek Muller, Raquel Nuno, and Emily Zhang Edited by Derek Muller and Petr Lebedev SFX by Shaun Clifford Additional video supplied by Getty Images Rover Footage From NASA/JPL-Caltech QF72 footage from the Smithsonian channel SM64 footage from Music from Epidemic Sound Produced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev and Emily Zhang